Pentax Spotmeter V – User Report

Pentax Spotmeter V 2017 copyright Douglas Stockdale For my analog/film photography, I have been a long time user of spotmeters, my first was made by Soligor and when I dropped that too many times, I replaced it with the Pentax Spotmeter V. The Spotmeter V is an analog spotmeter that has since been replaced by...

Drones, Drones, Drones!

For all drone fans and others who appreciate aerial photography, there is a recent award-winning book and associated website you might want to check out. I recently reviewed their book, Dronescapes, in THE PHOTOBOOK JOURNAL; you can read my review there. The website (Dronestagram) accepts submissions from around the world. Particularly interesting about this volume...

Gitzo compact carbon fiber tripod: user report

Gitzo G1228 Mountaineer Reporter Carbon Fiber Tripod, copyright Douglas Stockdale A number of years ago when I bent and broke for the last time my aluminum tubing heavy duty tripod, I decided to make an investment in a carbon fiber tripod. One of my many reasons for selecting the Gitzo G1228 as the tripod's name...

Pentax 645Z Macro Adventures

Recently I have picked up my Pentax 645Z again, to rediscover the world in miniature. The depth of field/focus can be very minimal at close range, seemingly elusive. I have a razor-sharp macro lens that I bought used at reasonable cost (compared to similar Hasselblad and Leica medium format lenses), the Pentax 645 120mm f/4...

Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens check

Santa Ana, CA, May 13 copyright 2017 Douglas Stockdale This is not meant in any means to be a full technical review of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens that I recently purchased, but in the immortal words of the late Garry Winogrand, "I want to see what this looks like". As background I have been using almost...